The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Aechmea plant, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Inca`. The genus Aechmea is a member of the family Bromeliaceae.
Aechmea comprises a genus of more than 168 species of evergeen perennials suitable for cultivation in the home or in the greenhouse. Aechmea may be terrestrial or epiphytic. For the most part, the species vary in diameter from 12 to 18 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of spiny-edged leaves.
Flowers and bracts of Aechmea frequently have brilliant colors and may last for several months. The range of colors for Aechmea is generally from the yellow through orange but may also include pink, orange, red and red-purple. Tubular, three-petalled flowers may also appear but are usually short-lived.
Aechmea may be advantageously grown as pot plants for greenhouse or home use. Typically, the plants are shaded from direct sunlight; and the central, vaselike part of the leaf rosette is normally filled with water.
Aechmea is native to tropical America. Leaves of Aechmea are usually formed as basal rosettes which are still and entire and in several vertical ranks. Aechmea has terminal spikes or panicles which are often bracted with petals united in a tube longer than the calyx.
Asexual propagation of Aechmea is frequently done through the use of tissue culture practices. Propagation can also be from offshoots which can be detached from the mother plant and grown in an appropriate soil or bark mixture. Methods for cultivating and crossing of Aechmea are well known.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program and was originated from a hybridization made during such a program in Balsa, Costa Rica in 1988. The female or seed parent was Aechmea tessmanii. The male or pollen parent was Aechmea flavo rosea.times.Aechmea fasciata(spineless form). `Inca` was discovered and selected as a fowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor, Chester Skotak, Jr., in 1995, in a controlled environment in Balsa, Costa Rica.
`Inca` is characterized by its spineless leaves and tall, reddish-pink inflorescence, which keeps its color for several months. `Inca` is distinguishable from the female parent by its lack of spines, smooth foliage surface, and smaller habitus (50-55 cm) than Aechmea tessmanii. `Inca` has shorter foliage (30-35 cm) than that of Aechmea tessmanii (50-70 cm). `Inca` is distinguishable from the male parents by its lack of spines. `Inca` has a smooth foliage surface and its inflorescence is heavily branched when compared to Aechmea fasciata. `Inca` has a larger habitus than Aechmea flavo rosea.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by tissue culture was performed by the inventor in a controlled environment in Balsa, Costa Rica in 1996, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.